Informative Speech: Bedouins

Introduction:

Today, I will be talking about a group of people who are known as the “Arabs’ purist representatives” (in cite). People who love to live near the desert and are not interested with the modern city life. They are more into the simple and peaceful lifestyle and way of living. There are around 4 million people, spread among Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq, Morocco, Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. Today, my speech is about the very interesting and unique Bedouin tribes. What is interesting about the Bedouins is that despite the changes and advances that happen around the world, they are still attached to the traditions they were raised on, without changing a thing. Although they have a lack of education,

Bedouins are generally open-minded and interested in what is going on in their surroundings, close and far.

In the past, when I used to go to Jordan and pass by Bedouin tents I used to wonder how they lived and very childishly make fun of them. However, last semester I decided to take a course in anthropology where we talked about Bedouins and I was amazed by their culture and lifestyle. Bedouins have a lot of interesting aspects that I wanted to share with you. However, the three main aspects that I will be focusing on today are; cultural norms, religion and traditions, and marriage and life.

Main ideas:

I. To begin with, I will be talking about the first main idea and that is the cultural norms of the Bedouins. Bedouins are considered the Arab culture’s purist representatives. They are distinct from most people of the ancient time, who preferred living near rivers (bedawi.com, 2015). Bedouins prefer to live in the open desert. They live in tents and each tent takes 3-4 adult individuals and many children. In addition, Bedouins herd animals for a living. Royal tribes are known to herd camel while other individuals herded sheep and goats. Work is usually divided between men and women in the Bedouin society. Men do everything that needs to

be done in public as women are not allowed to leave the tent to the market and usually work privately or within their tent. When it comes to herding the animals, men are responsible for the large ones such as camels and women are not allowed to be in close contact with them. However, women and older girls are allowed to feed and milk the smaller animals such as sheep. Furthermore, when it comes to raising children, men are responsible to raise and teach the boys and women are responsible to raise and teach girls until they get married. Bedouins are known to have a rich and very amusing culture and their own “Bedawi” language, which has different dialects depending on where they live. In addition, when it comes to clothing, they wear simple and easy to move in cloths (Newworldencyclopedia.org, 2015). Bedouins are great hosts. They take their guests in as family members, no matter how unrelated they are. They protect them as if they were family members, from any harm or conflict. When it comes to hospitality, Bedouins follow the path of the Prophet (pbuh) and his saying, “whoever believes in God and the day of resurrection, must respect his guests”. Moreover, if you pass by someone’s tent, you should sit for coffee and even food. It is considered disrespectful not to sit for a while or to refuse their invitation to go to their tent and have coffee.

II. Second, I will talk about their religion and religious traditions. Most Bedouins follow the same religion, Islam, while a few follow Christianity or might not practice any religion. A few societies in Jordan stayed Christian ever since the early Islamic period, but an enormous majority of them are Sunni Muslims (everyculture.com, 2015). The first converts to Islam came from Bedouin tribes. Therefore, Islam is implanted in their cultures. They live by the five pillars of Islam, which are the declaration of faith, the five daily prayers, almsgiving or giving to charity, fasting, and the pilgrimage to Mecca. They also believe in the presence of spirits, some lively and others wicked, and they have the Quran and protective amulets attached to their clothing to avoid such spirits (encyclopedia.com, 2015). Muslim Bedouins enjoy religious celebrations which include the Prophet’s birthday. They celebrate his birthday and carryout pilgrimages to the tombs of Saints such as prophets or all-time religious leaders. Other ceremonies and rituals include weddings celebrations, ritual naming of newborn infants, and circumcision of children (bedawi.com, 2015). Bedouins also ritually slaughter a goat or a sheep when a child is born. Their family and friends would then be invited to eat the prepared meat together. Bedouins have religious specialists from nearby settled regions to visit them and teach them about Islam and the Quran. These specialists are called “Shuyukh.” These shuyukh spend months with them and teach the young children about Islam and, mainly, how to read and recite Quran. There are also religious specialists that visit for curative and preventative reasons (everyculture.com, 2015).

III. Third, I will be talking about their marriage and lifestyle. When it comes to marriage, it is ideal to marry your closest relative who is usually the son of you uncle (father’s brother). Marriage is a huge deal in Bedouin communities. A traditional wedding lasts for a week. Bedouins like to follow ancient Arab concepts, where in the case of marriage, they celebrate the union of two families and not just two individuals (Abdelgawad, 2015). Brides are the superstars of the wedding. They have a bridal shower that is called Laylat Al Henna, where the best henna artists draw on the Bride’s hands and feet. To them, Henna symbolizes beauty, luck, and health. Bedouins try to keep their communities growing, so they like to expand their families by having as many children as possible. Bedouin women live in polygamous families, where the man can have more than one wife. The wife usually agrees to this, but if she objects then her opinion matters, and if she decides to leave her husband, then no one can stop her. However, usually these women understand the reasons to polygamy, and religiously, a man can marry up to four women in certain cases such as marrying a woman who is mentally sick or cannot get pregnant. In addition, divorce is quite common among Arabs in general and especially Bedouins. If a couple decided to get a divorce, the women must leave her tent immediately and go back to her father’s tent for support and protection. Women lived under a “baal system” of marriage, in which the man is considered the master of the house (oneworldmagazine.org, 2015). Despite the title of a man in a Bedouin marriage, women ought to choose their husbands and leave them if they were mistreated. Bedouin women are treated with respect by men. They are known for their strength and they represent themselves and the rest of the women communities in a noble manner.
Conclusion:
Bedouins continue to amaze people by their love and pride to their cultures and communities. The different and unique characteristics that they have allow them to be exceptional, distinctive, and certainly interesting to study about. Their cultural norms, religious beliefs, and marriage life are interesting and always worth enriching one’s knowledge with. Bedouins are smart and hardworking. Their ancestors’ hard work paid off tremendously after the oil discoveries in the Middle East. Modern UAE and Saudi Arabia are a proof of that. Bedouins continue to inspire people every day with their sense of respect, pride, and simplicity. I would like to conclude with a famous Bedouin saying, “I, against my brothers. I and my brothers against my cousins. I and my brothers and my cousins against the world”.

Reference:
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